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Back to Basics: Android skins explained

This week’s edition is all about the skins that go on top of your Android device. If you missed last week’s article about Android versions, you can check it out by clicking here. Let’s first start by explaining what a skin is.

A skin is an overlay which runs on top of your Android device. Each manufacturer makes its own respective skin which adds features, or changes the appearance of your Android device. The reason manufacturers do this is to differentiate themselves from other device makers, and also to put their own services and apps, in addition to the regular Google apps.

Today we’ll be explaining the main features of the most popular skins. These include the two latest versions of TouchWiz, which are made by Samsung, the two latest versions of Sense, which are made by HTC, LG’s Optimus UI, Sony’s Xperia UI, and Huawei’s Emotion UI. We’ll also look at stock Android, just so we know what we compare to.

First seen on the Samsung Galaxy S3 in 2012, this skin is designed to mimic nature. From the wallpaper, to the lock screen and even to the notification sounds, the whole UI is centered around nature. In fact the tagline for the Galaxy S3 is “Designed for humans, inspired by nature”.

TouchWiz is known for its feature rich and colorful user interface, but is sometimes criticised for its software slowing down the system and the fact that some features do not work as well as advertised. It also adds several Samsung apps like Music Hub, Samsung Apps, S Voice, S Memo and S Planner (See gallery below for the full list).

Some of the features that come with TouchWiz Nature UX are:

Smart stay: This feature tracks your eyes to keep the screen lit when you are looking at it.

Multiview: Multiview allows you to open two apps simultaneously on the screen, however it is only available on Samsung’s high-end devices. (See gallery below)

Pop up Play: Pop up Play gives you the ability to play a movie or video on top of whatever you are doing.

S-Beam: S-Beam allows you to share videos, music, photos or contacts, with other Samsung Galaxy S3’s, or Note 2’s.

TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0 (On top of Android 4.2) – Made by Samsung

TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0 continues upon the basis laid by TouchWiz Nature UX 1.0, and was first seen on the Samsung Galaxy S4. Most of the design remained the same, however the lock screen and settings app were slightly tweaked, as well as well as some new features being added (see gallery below).

This version of TouchWiz was considered a refinement over previous versions, however it was still criticized for slowing down the system.

Some features that come with TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0 are:

Smart Pause and Smart Scroll: Smart Pause tracks your eyes so that when you look away it will pause the video that you are watching making sure you never miss a moment of your favourite videos. Smart Scroll allows you to scroll using only your eyes and also works by tracking your eyes.

Air View and Air Gestures (Only available on devices which support this feature): Air View is an extension of the feature seen on the Note range. However, it now works with just your fingers, allowing you to preview photos or emails, and even speed dial. Air Gestures allow you to answer your phone, scroll in the browser or gallery and change music.

S Translator: This feature allows you to type or dictate what you’d like to say and then it will read back the translation in the language of your choice, and it can also translate what others say to you. The feature currently supports the languages Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

S Health: S Health monitors your daily calorie intake, weight and workouts, it can track your daily incidental exercise with the built-in pedometer (only available on devices with built-in pedometer). It can also be synced with accessories like a heart rate monitor and a body scale.

Dual Camera: Dual camera allows the user to take pictures or videos with both the subject and the photographer in the shot.

Sense 4 (On top of Android 4.0/4.1) – Made by HTC

HTC’s Sense UI is very different to Samsung’s approach at skins. While Samsung tries to add as many features as possible HTC attempts to create a great user experience without adding many features. It’s a different approach, but if you wouldn’t use any of the features on TouchWiz anyways then there is nothing to worry about.

The unlocking ring from yesteryear is still there, and the famous HTC Sense clock remains, but the whole design overall was simplified to become more attractive, and the over the top 3D animations which plagued older versions were reduced.

Overall the newer version provided a lighter, snappier experience, however some people criticized it for the way it strayed from stock Android, especially in multitasking.